Hyderabad: A resident doctor at Niloufer Hospital in Hyderabad was attacked by five attendants on Saturday, June 6, while he was on duty.
The incident occurred when a baby was placed in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, and the doctor, Nandan, had briefed the attendants that the patient was fine. However, upon hearing the baby cry, the family entered the unit again and had an argument with the doctor.
The doctor explained that only the mother could be allowed to stay in the NICU, but the attendants did not pay heed. The attendants – two men and three women – physically assaulted the doctor.
Amid chaos, doctors on duty could not immediately inform the police through the Resident Medical Officer (RMO) as the helpline was reportedly not working, highlighting serious lapses in emergency response mechanisms intended to protect healthcare workers.
Videos shared online showed doctors protesting against the attack, who raised “we want justice” slogans. One of the patients inside the NICU said, “When the doctor asked the attendants to leave, they did not pay heed. When the doctor threatened to call the police, they vandalised a chair.”
Another woman said, “They dragged the doctor outside the room and assaulted him.”
Speaking to Siasat.com, Niloufer Hospital Superintendent DG Vijay Kumar said, “The incident occurred on Saturday, when the attendants alleged negligence by the doctor. We called the police, who pacified the attendants and asked them to leave the premises.”
The Nampally Police said that no case has been registered yet and the attendants were let off after a warning.
Previous incident
The incident at Niloufer Hospital is the latest episode of on-duty doctors being attacked by the attendants. On May 24, a doctor, identified as Shiva Sankar Saguru, was physically assaulted by a woman attendant for allegedly not checking the patient’s sugar level.
Speaking to Siasat.com, TJUDA general secretary Dr Ajay said, “The doctor was checking the sugar levels of the patient. At the same time, the attendant was speaking to a family member on a video call. She kept asking the doctor regarding her mother’s sugar level.”
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